Oscar Contest: Enter TAR’s Something Sweet, Something Beautiful Sweepstakes

February 20, 2012

Will it be Jean or George taking a trip to the podium to claim the best actor prize at the Academy Awards? Will Michel best Marty, who took home the trophy as top director for “The Departed” five years ago? Will “The Artist” continue its inexorable march to the finish? Will the best actress statuette end up in the hands of Viola?

Those questions and many others will be answered Sunday night at the Kodak Theater at the 84th annual Academy Awards. Unlike other Oscar contests, we here at the Atkin Report are not requiring you to pick the winners for a chance at a prize in our Something Sweet, Something Beautiful Sweepstakes.

Here’s what you can win:

The Grand Prize: A beautiful two-pound hat box filled with Terry’s Toffee, (www.terrystoffee.com)  the Chicago-based confection that has been a staple backstage and in the dressing rooms at the Oscars for eight years now, a delicious treat for nominees, presenters and performers.

First Prize: A gift of beauty from Leonor Greyl and Talika, two prestigious French brands that are being used to prep some of the nominees for their big night.

Second Prize: Half a pound of Terry’s special Academy Awards mix of delicious toffees, made from his grandmother McCall’s recipe.

Here’s how to enter in two easy steps: First, “Like” the Atkin Report on Facebook from the link on the right side of our homepage. Then, come back and leave a comment on one of our stories in our awards season section highlighted on the homepage. Leaving two comments on two different articles increases your chances to win, but there is a limit of two comments/entries per person.

The winners will be randomly chosen on Monday, February 27 and notified by e-mail to send their address for receipt of their prizes.

Happy Oscars, and good luck in  TAR’s Something Sweet, Something Beautiful Oscar Sweepstakes.

 

Filed Under: Featured Stories

The Grammys Pay Fitting Tribute to a Fallen Star

February 13, 2012

Although she died far too young, it was almost destined that Whitney Houston should take her permanent leave on the night of her mentor Clive Davis’ party, the eve of the 54th annual Grammy Awards – as they always call it, music’s biggest night. For although her heyday was 20 years ago, Houston left this world as one of music’s biggest stars.

 

Because of the timing, her name was on the lips of everyone in the industry, and although her passing would have been a huge news story at any time, as Amy Winehouse’s untimely death was last year, the white-hot light of fame focused by the Grammys’ star power illuminated her legacy to an even greater degree. That beautiful face, that even sweeter voice that could tremulously hold notes in several octaves and send shivers down your spine, Houstonwas in an orbit that few attain.

 

Grammy producers had to scramble to pay proper tribute to Houston during Sunday night’s show, but as recording academy president Neil Portnow said, “We’re musicians, we improvise.” And that they did, after host LL Cool J started things off with a prayer as the audience bowed their heads, the grief and shock still apparent.

 

As the show progressed, artists including Alicia Keys and Rihanna– among those that are part of her musical progeny– gave shout outs to Whitney, before Jennifer Hudson sang a heartrending version of Houston’s top smash hit, “I Will Always Love You.”

 

It’s fascinating to watch the scenes of “The Bodyguard” that she starred in with Kevin Costner, spawning one of the best-selling soundtracks of all time and going back to a time before Houston’s life became complicated by substance abuse.

 

The resonance of Houston’s death and the official crowning of Adele as music’s favorite songstress made this Grammy telecast the second watched in history, after the 1984 edition in which Michael Jackson was coronated for the epic “Thriller.”  Although the 23-year-old Brit, who performed for the first time since having vocal cord surgery in the fall didn’t mention Houston by name, she would do well to remember the lessons of her life and stay away from further “rubbish relationships”– even as they inspire best-selling songs.

 

 

 

 

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The Middle Finger at the Super Bowl: Thumbs Down

February 7, 2012

Even as the New York Giants pulled off a thrilling come-from-behind, down to the last play win inIndianapolis, what Super Bowl XLVI may be remembered for nearly as much are its record ratings for the NBC broadcast, the M.I.A bird flip during the Madonna halftime show and the Clint Eastwood Chrysler commercial.

 

With :30 spots going for a pricey $3.5 million each, the majority of those that seemed to resonate most were for cars—Matthew Broderick reprising his iconic Ferris Bueller role for Honda, Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno shilling for Acura, an overweight dog running to get into a new Volkswagen Beetle, the Audi vampire party commercial—along with Super Bowl party-perfect snack foods and beverages, like Pepsi, Doritos and M&Ms. Then, defying easy categorization, except for possibly “hot, sexy, heavily tattooed athletic bodies sell,” there was David Beckham in his skivvies for fast fashion retailer H &M.

 

The 46th edition of the NFL championship game also marked a digital milestone, with the gridiron play, halftime and more than one third of the commercials being “Shazamable.”

 

For those not familiar, Shazam is an audio/music recognition app for smart phones that made its name in the music industry before integrating its second screen experience into several television shows last year. It provided users with exclusive content and free songs for several awards telecasts, dramas and music competition programs—and it’s clearly making major inroads into the TV business with its Super Bowl foray.

 

The UK-based company offered its users chances to download videos, enter sweepstakes and donate to charity and says the spot that received the most interaction was for Best Buy, which conveniently featured its founders, Chris Barton and Avery Wang talking about innovations in mobile technology.

 

Movie ticketing site Fandango also experimented with a Super Bowl commercial for the first time.  For Universal Pictures’ upcoming action-adventure film “Battleship,” viewers saw a call to action that linked them to the company’s mobile app. There, they could sign up for alerts that will notify them when tickets are available at their local theaters and could enter a contest to win five years worth of free movie tickets.

 

As television moves from a passive, sit back on the couch experience to a more interactive one, trailers for upcoming films are the perfect opportunity to get bodies in paid seats.  

It just wouldn’t be a complete Super Bowl halftime show without some controversy, and sort of, but not really like Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” from eight years back, the one from XLVI happened in less than a blink of the eye.

 

During Madonna’s performance of her new single “Give Me All Your Luvin,” with guest stars Nicki Minaj and M.I.A., the latter pulled out a fourth-grade gesture, flipping off the massive audience, estimated at that point to be 116 million people, with her middle finger–for some unknown reason other than she could.

 

NBC and the NFL, which is solely responsible for the content of the halftime show, apologized, saying the gesture could not be obscured in time.  Apparently, if the FCC decides to fine NBC for indecency, the British rapper would be responsible for monetary damages for her finger wag. TMZ and other news organizations are reporting that she signed a contract with the NFL to indemnify it in the case of such a circumstance.

 

You may recall that CBS was hit with a $550,000 FCC fine afterJackson’s nipple exposure in a song and dance routine with Justin Timberlake– to this day a mystery of whether it was inadvertent or purposeful– but that the fine was eventually thrown out by a federal appeals court.

 

In the court of public opinion, we can use another finger to describe M.I.A.’s behavior: thumbs down. There are attention whores, and then there are people who squander a huge international platform on juvenile idiocy.

 

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Tilda Swinton + Italian Jewelry = A Champagne-Soaked Night

February 5, 2012

The ethereal Tilda Swinton, dressed in luminous white on a balmy night, brought her unique blend of sophistication and beauty to the opening of a new jewelry store on Rodeo Drive.

 

Swinton, starring in this season’s “We Have to Talk About Kevin,” is the face of the jeweler, Pomellato, and wore two of its signature chunky jeweled chains around her neck while greeting guests as the host of the event, which benefited LA’s Museum of Contemporary Art.

 

Veuve Clicquot and tray-passed appetizers were free-flowing throughout the evening.

 

If you’re not familiar, Pomellato, named after an elegant breed of horse, was founded in Milan in 1967 as a jewelry workshop with 15 employees.

 

The Pomellato style is readily recognized — a rounded, simple design, most often in gold, set with largecoloredstones like rubellite, aquamarine, iolite, madersky quartz, garnets and peridot. Some 80 new Pomellato designs are released every year, amounting to about 80,000 handmade in Milan pieces, while the best sellers of the previous years are included the so-called traditional collection.

 

Filling a niche between exclusive items made by famous jewelry houses and mass-market pieces, Pomellato aims for the pret-a-porter concept that exclusive jewels are created to be worn every day.

 

The Beverly Hills store, the company’s fourth in the US, is a two-story, 5,400-square-foot space designed by New York–based architect Raffaella Bortoluzzi and features gold upholstered walls, glass-and-mirror walls and limestone floors.

New York, Miami and Chicagoare the other American outposts of the brand. The designs have been available at Saks and Bergdorf Goodman.

 

No need to stick around for the rest of awards season for Swinton, who was nominated for “Kevin” by the Globes, BFCA and SAG and received numerous critics’ awards.

 

The actress won the Academy Award for “Michael Clayton” several years ago but was overlooked by Oscar voters this year. She told us she was heading back for Scotland the next day after her time in LA, where she leaves behind memories of a wonderful evening—and a massive poster of herself wearing Pomellato at the Rodeo Drive store.

 

Pomellato, 320 N. Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills (310) 858-1300, www.pomellato.it

 

 

Filed Under: Events, Featured Stories Tagged With: , ,

A Controversial Show Vindicated (Again) by Awards Gold

January 31, 2012

It was Michel Hazanavicius’ night at the DGA Awards. Yes, you better learn how to pronounce the French director’s six syllable name of Lithuanian origin already. More on that in a moment.

 

It would be an understatement to say that “The Kennedys” began as a very rough road for Jon Cassar and everyone else involved in the production of the mini-series about the presidency of JFK, starring Greg Kinnear and Katie Holmes as Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy.

 

Dropped like a hot potato by the History Channel, the eight-hour series was quickly picked up by Stanley Hubbard’s Reelz Channel, and since it aired in April 2011, it has shaken off the initial controversy attached to it and become a huge awards magnet.

 

Perhaps the final vindication came when Cassar, well-known for his work on the vaunted “24,” won the Directors Guild Award Saturday night in Hollywood in the prestigious movies for television/mini-series category. Cassar had previously won the DGA in 2006 for directing “24.”

 

Patty Jenkins took the drama trophy for directing the pilot of AMC’s “The Killing” and Robert B. Weide scored the comedy prize for the legendary “Palestinian Chicken” episode of HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” Other television winners included Glenn Weiss for musical/variety, “65th Annual Tony Awards,” Neil P. Degroot, reality program for “Biggest Loser,” and Amy Schatz, children’s programming for “A Child’s Garden of Poetry.”

 

William Ludel took the DGA for an endangered species, daytime serials, for “General Hospital” and Noam Murro won in the commercials category for among others, spots for Heineken, DirecTV and Volkswagen.

 

One of television’s most famous faces hosted the non-televised ceremony, with Kelsey Grammer taking over the duties long performed by legendary comedian Carl Reiner.

 

The show has a bit of a unique format among kudofests. Each of the feature film directors up for the top prize is lauded by a colleague or coworkers involved the project at hand, and bestowed with a golden medallion, giving currency to the throwaway line that “it’s an honor just to be nominated.”

 

It’s a crowd -leasing tactic as well, and a chance to lobby the picture further down the awards path to the Oscars.

 

Ben Kingsley, who plays director George Melies in “Hugo,” gave a moving introduction to the film’s director, Martin Scorsese, who then received a standing ovation, presumably, just for being Marty Scorsese.

 

Another George, Clooney, was the one to present “The Descendants” director Alexander Payne with his DGA medallion. Ever the gentleman, Clooney, who has been ubiquitous on the awards campaign trail with recognition for his lead role in that film, and for directing, producing, co-writing and acting in “The Ides of March” was careful not to overshadow Payne when it came to photo ops.

 

Kathy Bates, who plays Gertrude Stein in Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris,” was tapped to do the honors for Allen, who is notorious for rarely showing up at Left Coast awards presentations. In a rare turn of events, he spoke to the crowd of industry peers in a previously taped bit explaining why–saying that his funny façade, the nebbishy, neurotic Jewish guy from New York, disappears once he has to mingle with people, because he really has nothing to say.

 

DGA president Taylor Hackford lauded the also absent David Fincher for “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.”

 

It was “The Artist’s” freshly and French-ly talkative, charming co-starring duo, Bérénice Bejo and Jean Dujardin who regaled the crowd with memories of making the silent film, directed by Michel Hazanavicius. They said that after multiple takes of the tap dance routine, he told them simply that it was “pretty good,” but to “smile more.”

 

After his win of the trophy, the trio had nothing but smiles on their faces, and after Dujardin’s surprise lead actor SAG win, presumably, will keep them through the Academy Awards.  

 

As for the pronunciation of Hazanavicius, we’re told you can go with ha-za-na-VEE-shus. There, that makes it a little easier.

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Awards Season, Entertainment, Featured Stories Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Cirque du Soleil OVO: A Smashing Success in Santa Monica

January 23, 2012

Cirque du Soleil is known for its artistic, visual and acrobatic extravaganzas, and its latest tent show, called “OVO,” adds a vivid new entry to the repertoire of the Québec-based performing arts company.

Opening night on January 20 under the yellow and blue big tent, or Grand Chapiteau, at the Santa Monica Pier was star-studded. Josh Brolin, Diane Lane, Hilary Swank, Heather Graham, Neil Patrick Harris and Ali Landry were among the audience of 2,600, eagerly awaiting the opening act as the lights came up to reveal a spectacular circular stage populated with unique, costumed characters.

Ovo means “egg” in Portugese, and a giant egg is the centerpiece of a vibrant world of insects that populate the production, which has already been seen in 15 North American cities by more than two million people. Santa Monica is its sole Southern California stop.

Grasshoppers, spiders, butterflies, ants—this show is about a troupe of bugs, centered around three lead characters: a ladybug, a buzzing fly and the wise elder of the entire crew, known as Master Flippo.

Their colorful ecosystem teems with activity as the characters crawl, flutter, play, fight, work, eat – and look for love.

When the mysterious egg appears in their midst, they are intensely curious and awestruck about what it represents, which is the cycles of their lives.

As the insects work to accept this mysterious intrusion into their lives, Cirque’s trademark acrobatic acts take the show to new heights. One of the highlights is the stunning flying trapeze act, where six performers fly 40 feet into the air. Another features 20 performers running, ricocheting off the trampoline floor and leaping up a 24 foot vertical wall.

 

But on the ground, the hardest-working insects in the community are the bright red ants, who perform synchronized dances with what appeared to be giant slices of kiwi and corn on the cob. It’s an entrancing way of playing with food.

 

And then there are the yellow and red fleas, whose agility allows them to fling themselves through the air and then come together in precise, structural formations.

 

The balletic butterflies were a revelation. A romantic male and female couple, they perform an awe-inspiring pas de deux on a rope that allows them to soar in perfect unison.

 

In another stunning aerial act, a group of scarabs soars high above the stage from both edges and then meticulously land on a high platform in the middle.

 

A dragonfly takes center stage with a graceful balancing act that takes inordinate control to switch off balancing his weight from one hand to the other while maintaining equilibrium–all while upside down on a piece of foliage.

 

Just when you think the acrobatics couldn’t get any more daring, a spider gives a tour de force performance that defies gravity, as he traverses a tightrope upside down on a unicycle.

 

The show has one intermission, and opening night featured trays filled with brightly colorful cupcakes with antennas that complemented the costumes and naturally, champagne to celebrate the premiere.

 

Ovo’s creative team includes Artistic Guides Guy Laliberte and Gilles Ste-Croix; Writer, Director, and Choreographer Deborah Colker, the first female director in Cirque history; Director of Creation, Chantal Tremblay; Sets and Props Designer, Gringo Cardia; Costume Designer Liz Vandal and Composer and Musical Director Berna Ceppas.

 

Show times are Tuesday thru Thursday at 8 pm, Friday and Saturday, 4 pm and 8 pm, Sunday1 pm and 5 pm. Ovo runs throughMarch 11, 2012. Tickets are $45 – $145, or $270 for a VIP experience that includes a private patio for intermission.

 

The Grand Chapiteau is located in the parking lot just north of the Santa Monica Pier, accessed by a staircase behind Bubba Gump Shrimp on the pier.

 

More information: (800) 450-1480,  www.cirquedusoleil.com/OVO

Filed Under: Events, Featured Stories Tagged With: , ,

Gervais Gets Neutered, Silence is Golden for The Artist

January 17, 2012

It was the second coming of Ricky Gervais to the emcee podium of the Golden Globe Awards, or actually, the third. After last year’s controversial performance, people forget that the British comedian also hosted the 2010 edition of the kudocast.

 

The hyped-up fascination of who he would offend this year paid off again in the ratings, with Nielsen estimating that about 16.8 million viewers tuned in to Sunday night’s NBC telecast.

 

But mirroring his insistence that Johnny Depp was on recreational drugs, Gervais apparently took some recreational nice pills before the show. With a few exceptions, his jabs just didn’t have the bite that aroused such vitriol last year from the likes of insult target Robert Downey Jr.

 

Trashing Kim Kardashian and comparing her unfavorably to Kate Middleton? Standard fare for any standup comic. Dissing Eddie Murphy for bailing as host of the Oscars but saying “yes” to “Norbit?” Fair game. Asking Depp if he’d even seen “The Tourist,” a film he’d trashed last year? Amusing.

 

The wrath of Ricky, despite endless promos touting it, turned out to be pretty toothless during one of the few gigs where it’s okay, and even expected, to drink on the job. After reading the rules he was supposed to follow, like no profanity (yeah, right) and no jokes about Mel Gibson, he quickly followed up with an innuendo-laden rant about Jodie Foster’s (film) “The Beaver,” which the actress/director seemed to take in good humor by giving a thumbs-up from her seat in the Beverly Hilton ballroom.

 

Similarly, evoking sexual innuendo and insults, he lashed into Madonna in his introduction to her as a presenter, which she quickly turned around to bash him. “Ricky, if I’m still like a virgin, why don’t you come over here and do something about it? I haven’t kissed a girl for a long time. (Pause.) On TV,” she said–as he ran back and forth behind her on stage.

 

It was one of the funniest moments of the show, which, despite its reputation for raunchiness saw its share of dignified moments, starting with Christopher Plummer’s acceptance speech as supporting actor for his role in the little-seen film “Beginners,” and continuing with Helen Mirren and Sidney Poitier’s presentation of the Cecil B. DeMille award for lifetime achievement to Morgan Freeman.

 

There were other Oscar-worthy acceptance speeches as well, not surprisingly, from those who have taken home those more “esteemed” trophies—as Gervais called the grand dame of award shows in comparing it to the Globes—like Kate Winslet (for the lead role in HBO’s “Mildred Pierce”) and Julian Fellowes for PBS’s “Downton Abbey.”

 

Hollywood Foreign Press Association voters went all in for quality television, awarding new and niche shows and their stars golden statuettes. “Homeland,” “Boss,” “Episodes” and “Enlightened” thus have frontrunner status on the road to the Emmy Awards, while critical and popular favorite “Modern Family” added to its trophy case with the prize for best television comedy and “Game of Thrones” scored with a win for supporting actor Peter Dinklage.

 

But back to the show. Seth Rogen drove the lewd scale to a new low when he took the stage as a presenter with actress Kate Beckinsale and promptly remarked upon being unable to contain his physical arousal. (That must have been on the same teleprompter that wasn’t there for Rob Lowe and Julianne Moore—resulting in their ad lib of cold reading for Steven Spielberg.) She never regained her composure as they proceeded to present an award.

 

Who would have guessed that in addition to Gervais’ planned profanities, Meryl Streep caused a bleep when she apparently uttered an expletive upon realizing she forgot her reading glasses as she took the best actress prize for her role as Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady.”

 

Leave it to the ever suave, sophisticated, sexy two-time winner of the night, “The Descendants” star George Clooney to be both funny (coming out on stage with Brad Pitt’s cane, making fun of Michael Fassbender in “Shame”), and touching (complimenting best actor rival/friend Pitt on his humanitarian work).

 

If there were any residual effects of the anti-French sentiment from the Bush era, the people behind the burgeoning awards powerhouse “The Artist” dispelled it with their charm in receiving three Globes, including the top prize as best comedy/musical.

 

As that black and white art house film is showing the world, sometimes silence can be golden–and Rogen could surely take a lesson from that.

 

Filed Under: Awards Season, Entertainment, Featured Stories, Television Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Awards Season Comes into Focus with Critics Choice Pix

January 13, 2012

The first major televised award show of the season has suddenly clarified the rest of the campaign leading up to its grand finale, the Academy Awards.

 

The 17th Annual Critics Choice Movie Awards, presented by the influential Broadcast Film Critics Association and aired on VH1, anointed some surprise winners during the two-hour telecast live last night from the Hollywood Palladium.

 

“The Help,” released last summer, clearly was not forgotten and made a deep impression on the critics– sweeping the acting categories. First, it was Octavia Spencer, who took the trophy as best supporting actress. And then, her castmate and fellow maid in the film, Viola Davis, accepted the award as best actress against a tough field of contenders including Meryl Streep, Tilda Swinton, Charlize Theron, Elizabeth Olsen and Michelle Williams.

 

Davis gave a rousing and emotional speech, chronicling her rise as an actress and citing women like those in the film, and her mother and grandmother as those who paved the way for her. She spoke of love and friendship–themes that are certain to presage themes in more of her speeches to come during the season.

 

“The Help” also took home the acting ensemble prize, topping “The Ides of March,” “Bridesmaids,” “The Descendants” and “The Artist.”

 

But it was the latter film that took the critics by storm, and was honored with the top prize of best picture handed out at the end of the show, which was hosted by comedians Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel. “The Artist” had already picked up three other awards during the evening, for costume design, score and best director.

 

Yes, we are all going to have to learn how to pronounce the name Michel Hazanavicius, the director of the silent film, which has become a box office phenomenon.

 

He charmingly accepted his trophy while citing other great directors in the room like Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg.

 

Scorsese was given a huge honor by having none other than the legendary Bob Dylan serenade him for winning the critics’ Music + Film award for his brilliant use of music to punctuate the drama and his many acclaimed films.

 

We would have loved to hear more, but time constraints of a live telecast did not permit any encores that normally would have followed from the audience’ s rousing reception.

 

For best actor, the field could supply any” sexiest man alive” covers for the next six years–with the six actors being George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio (who with Olivia Harrison presented Scorsese with his music award), Brad Pitt (still hobbling on a cane from that knee injury) Michael Fassbender, Ryan Gosling and Jean Dujardin, star of “The Artist.”

 

But it was the charismatic Clooney who was awarded the trophy for his role in “The Descendants” as a middle-age man struggling with family relationships.

 

Score one for Entertainment Weekly for having Clooney and Davis as the cover photo in its recent Oscar race issue.

 

The screenwriting awards are also indicative of what’s to come in the categories of original and adapted. Woody Allen, not surprisingly in absentia, was awarded original screenplay honors and Steve Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin (Pitt’s date for the evening) took the prize for their adaptation of Michael Lewis’ baseball exposé “Moneyball.”

 

Sean Penn appeared by satellite from Haiti to accept the Joel Siegel award for humanitarian efforts and young Thomas Horn, star of the 9/11 drama “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” got the best young actor award. On the other end of the spectrum– and he cited his age himself– Christopher Plummer was honored with the best supporting actor statuette for his role in a movie that not many have seen, “Beginners.”

 

In addition to the telecast, VH1, produced a dynamic second screen experience for viewers which included video streams from critics commenting on the proceedings as the night unfolded. The show also resulted in a number of trending topics on Twitter, most notably for Dylan, Plummer, Scorsese, Spencer and Davis–all deserving of further recognition.

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Tough Times for Newspaper Subscribers

January 5, 2012

In this era of newspapers bleeding red ink, cutting staff and losing subscribers, one would think these old media entities would do all they could to keep what they have.

 

That was why it was a particularly rude awakening as a longtime Los Angeles Times subscriber to come back from vacation – a rather lengthy one at that – to find out some really bad news over my morning coffee.  (The good news was that they had caught the arsonist that had been terrorizing parts of the city for four days.)

 

Over the years, and the countless times I’ve left town, the process has been simple. You called the easy to remember toll-free number (1-800-LA-TIMES) and put in for vacation stop on the days you’d be gone. Then, through the automated system, you were given the option of having your account credited, having the newspapers saved and delivered upon your return or having your papers donated to the public schools. I normally opted for the donation, but sometimes went for the account credit.

 

But now the new policy is no option for credit or for donation. You just pay the full rate, which was recently increased by a substantial percentage, no matter if you’re gone 29 of 31 days a month. I found that out from the lovely person I spoke to on the phone after my return when I noticed the rate had been raised, thinking I could renegotiate it to the previous rate.

 

This is always been possible in the past. There’s always been some sort of promotion they can put you on, especially when you’re a seven day a week, long time subscriber. The operator insisted that the only way I can do that was to pay the full amount for a year, up front, which I refused to do. (Normally, billing is for a two-month period.)

 

Striking out there, after my request to speak with a supervisor was ignored, I then turned to the issue of confirming that my account was credited for the time I was gone over the holidays, and that’s when I was told the customer-unfriendly new policy– that even if you don’t take the paper, you pay for it anyway.

 

Not a good way to do business, LA Times. I now have to evaluate whether the risk of spilling coffee all over my keyboard is worth giving up an old habit that I have fondly enjoyed: waking up to home delivery of my hometown newspaper.

 

Meanwhile, on the other coast, I had ordered home delivery of the New York Times at my temporary Manhattan abode. When my Sunday paper did not come. I called the not-so-easy to remember but handily written down number. (I previously had called several times when the paper wasn’t there, presumably taken by another resident, but redelivered in short order.) The automated voice promptly told me that my account would be credited, for which the Sunday newspaper—the big one– had been the last day of my subscription.

 

It’s difficult for me to give up this newspaper habit, but now all have to check the Gray Lady’s delivery rates compared to the LAT. It could be an option.

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Shame: Michael Fassbender’s NC-17 Sex in the City Thrill Ride

December 2, 2011

Deep, dark, gloomy and, dare we say, penetrating. That’s the feeling you get from the very beginning of the new thriller, “Shame.”

 

If you missed seeing the Irish born actor Michael Fassbender in “X-Men: First Class,” “Jane Eyre,” “Hunger,” or this season’s “A Dangerous Method,” you’ll never forget him as Brandon in the Steve McQueen directed “Shame.”

 

We first meet the handsome, brooding Brandon in bed at his New York apartment and within less than a minute, see him full-frontal– and then furiously masturbating in his bathroom and then in the men’s room in his office, where he also accesses porn on the company computer.

 

His exact occupation is left somewhat of a mystery – he may work at an advertising agency– but one thing is quite clear. He’s a sex addict who has difficulty connecting with himself or with other people as human beings. A soulless Manhattanite who needs the release of sex multiple times a day, whether it’s by himself, with a pickup at a bar or a prostitute.

Despite his uncontrollable urges and his lack of introspection about them, Brandon has his routines down pat. We see him showering in the morning, repeatedly listening to a phone message from what sounds like a desperate ex-flame that he’s blown off, commuting to work on the subway–where he often flashes back to his sexual gratification and gives the eye to attractive women. Then, his day involves dealing with his workload and his boss, played by a schlumpy (as we’ve never seen him) James Badge Dale– who’s more of a bar buddy wanting in on some of Brandon’s action.

 

And then there’s the joyless sex– on the street, in his apartment, or in the window of the Standard Hotel in full view of the street below. It’s not identified, but that’s where a lot of the action takes place.

 

As they used to say about “Sex and the City,” New York City is a character in this film and its aficionados will enjoy figuring out other sites where scenes were filmed.

 

All may be fine and good, as it apparently has been for years, until a big complication arrives at Brandon’s doorstep in the form of his sister, Sissy, in a stunning performance by Carey Mulligan. She is as emotionally open and needy as he is contained, demanding that she stay with him, where she proceeds to press all of his buttons in the wrong way, including walking in on a masturbation session.

 

It’s when Sissy– a nightclub singer with her own deeply felt emotional issues– takes up with the married boss that things get really out of control and start to spiral downward for Brandon, who already perceives the walls closing in.

 

Meanwhile, he’s trying to start an actual dating relationship with a coworker played by Nicole Beharie. They start off on an awkward dinner date and, well, we’re not going to spoil what happens.

 

The whole time, with shades of “American Psycho,” you’re wondering what Brandon is going to do next. Rape, murder? Assault? The journey involves a gay sex club, some seedy bars and a threesome– all through the lens of Brandon’s desperation and despair.

 

Shame, Rated NC-17

Directed by Steve McQueen, written by McQueen and Abi Morgan

Running time: 1:39

 

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